URBAN
TACTILITY

A KEYNOTE OF THE 2019 OPEN HOUSE MELBOURNE PROGRAM
LOCATED IN THE IMMIGRATION MUSEUM COURTYARD, ALONGSIDE
A MONTH-LONG PROGRAM OF FREE TALKS AND SPECIAL EVENTS.

Urban Tactility

URBAN TACTILITY IS A KEYNOTE OF THIS YEAR’S OPEN HOUSE MELBOURNE PROGRAM TAKING PLACE IN THE IMMIGRATION MUSEUM COURTYARD ALONGSIDE A FREE MONTH-LONG PROGRAM OF TALKS AND SPECIAL EVENTS.

A site-specific public installation of tactile indicators in the forecourt of the Immigration Museum, Urban Tactility will highlight how public art and design can make a significant contribution to conversations around important urban issues such as social inclusion, social connectivity and the building of community around a public design project.

Urban Tactility will negotiate broad contemporary cultural issues exploring our rights as citizens to the city. Building on the thought-provoking nature of the Sensory City tours we ran in partnership with OoPLA in 2017 & 2018, the Urban Tactility installation is designed to inspire people to connect with the experience of those living with low vision and blindness and the way they navigate the city.

The project has a tri-fold agenda. Firstly, it’s a chance to think about how the city can be designed for different communities and users. Secondly, it’s a chance to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. And thirdly, it’s a chance to experience the city from a sensory perspective and explore the city beyond the visual. This agenda is amplified by the venue partnership with the Immigration Museum.

Urban Tactility is presented by OoPLA, Open House Melbourne and Cushman & Wakefield – Open House Melbourne’s inaugural Inclusivity and Access partner. It’s supported by Immigration Museum and City of Melbourne. Image: Tania Davidge

About OoPLA

Tania Davidge and Christine Phillips collaborate as OoPLA. Although founded by architects, OoPLA is not a practice about buildings but rather a practice interested in a broader understanding of architecture. Through the creation of discussion forums, workshops, public art projects, exhibitions and architectural events, OoPLA aims to draw attention to the spaces we use every day and how these spaces impact our lives.

Cushman & Wakefield

“Our Access and Inclusion partnership with Open House Melbourne is one we’re excited about. Supporting this installation we hope the community can experience a different way to navigate our city.At Cushman & Wakefield we champion diversity and inclusion in our workplace, thinking and culture.”

James Patterson – Chief Executive, Australia & New Zealand

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Our programming exists on what always was and always will be the land of the people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, as well as to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the wider Melbourne community and beyond. Indigenous sovereignty has never been ceded in Australia and we try to be mindful of this in everything we do, given our focus on the modern built environment.

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